Huge Batch of Falafel

Make your own falafel at home using dried chickpeas – and better yet, make a huge batch and freeze the rest so you always have some ready to use! They are delicious in wraps, pita, on couscous or salad!

These balls of chickpea goodness are awesome! I always make a huge batch of Falafel, because they freeze well and it doesn’t really take that much longer to make more of them. I love them in wraps, on couscous, in the pide bread, in pita-sandwiches or in curries… so good!

These falafel are not only vegan but also gluten-free! Chickpeas are rich in protein and iron and because they aren’t fried like you would get them at restaurants, these could be considered as healthy (or at least healthier)! For these Falafel, I used dried chickpeas, but if you prefer using canned chickpeas, I’ve got a version you’ll love here.

How to make Falafel…

Making Falafel is super easy! For these, I’m using dried chickpeas, that are soaked overnight. Place them in a food processor together with softened onions and garlic, herbs and spices, lemon juice, chickpea flour (the binding ingredient) and baking powder. Pulse until combined. Then form balls and bake these in the oven until browned and crispy.

Falafel FAQ

Are Falafel healthy?

I wouldn’t consider the falafel you can buy in restaurants healthy because they are usually fried. These Falafel, however, are baked in the oven and therefore a much healthier option!

Can I freeze Falafel?

Yes, especially these ones are super freezer friendly. Bake them, then let them cool off completely, transfer them into a ziplock bag and freeze up to 3 months. For reheating, you can pop them in the microwave, bake them in the oven, pan-fry or add them to a Falafel Curry (it’s my favorite way to use frozen falafel because it makes them super soft again).

Can I use canned chickpeas for Falafel?

Absolutely! If you don’t want to use dried chickpeas, you can use canned chickpeas. But it’s best to use this recipe for Spinach Falafel and simply leave out the spinach.

Huge Batch of Falafel

Vegan Falafel, to satisfy your cravings for the delicious little ball of chickpea-goodness. Eaten in a wrap, pita bread, oriental bread or on hummus.

Instructions

Put the dry chickpeas in a large bowl, cover with enough water (the chickpeas will double in size!) and let them sit covered overnight.

Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C.

Peel the onions and garlic cloves. Put them in a food processor and chop.

In a pan with a teaspoon of canola oil, add the chopped onions, garlic & cumin and let it cook on medium-high heat for about 5 minutes or until they start to brown.

Drain the chickpeas and then work in batches by adding the first batch into the food processor and chop until the pieces are really small (you don't want to make hummus). In one batch add in the parsley to chop it as well. Repeat until all the chickpeas are used. Transfer everything to a huge bowl.

Add in the chickpea flour and olive oil. Mix the chickpea mixture well and form little balls. If the dough does not stick together enough, add more chickpea flour and oil.

Put the falafel on a baking tray and put them in the oven for about 25 minutes or until they turn golden.

You can eat the falafel like that or put them in a pan with a little oil for re-heating when you need them. They freeze very well, so you will have a nice stash of homemade falafel in your freezer, which is super convenient ;)

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My favorite recipe to make with these oven-baked Falafel: Falafel Curry

Falafel Curry! I love falafel and I love curry, so why not combine them?!

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I made these tonight. Unfortunately the chick pea flour I had was old and stale. So I used Gf flour instead. After adding 1 whole extra cup of Gf flour, it still wasn’t sticky enough to form into a ball. Fearful of losing the flavor, i went ahead and baked it. It still turned out tasty, although not authentic falafel since it was a bit doughy.

I plan on giving it a second try with chickpea flour and with less of the suggested sodium.

Hi Jayne. Thank you so much for your feedback. Definitely use chickpea flour the next time, because chickpea flour is one of the best binding flours. If the falafel do not hold together, use more chickpea flour together with more oil or water. But you shouldn’t need that much extra flour. I’ve never had doughy falafel, so this shouldn’t happen with chickpea flour. Good luck on your next try!

They are in the oven as we speak! I’m curious how they are going to turn as I’m only making half a portion and had to replace chickpeas with a canned version and flour with just a basic one! I’m just recently making changes to my diet and would like to enter as many vegan elements into it as I can. I also halved the parsley amount and replaced the other one with coriander (cilantro ). I hope this works with so many changes lol still pretty excited about it! :-D

Hahaa, I’m so glad to hear that, Dom! I was really worried about the flour because they could have turned out mushy – but I’m happy for you that they turned out great :) Good job! And also thank you so much for telling me – I love hearing back from my readers. Now bon appétit :)

Thank you for sharing this recipe with us. I think about serving these falafels my guest on friday night and wonder how you would prepare them in advance best. I won’t have a lot time on that evening and would like to cook almost everything the evening before. I’m a little bit afraid, that they get to dry if I reheat them in the oven again. And how do you handle them when they are frozen? Have a lovely day. xx

Dear Gina, so sorry I couldn’t get back to you sooner! I think they would turn out really dry, if re-heated in the oven. I usually pan-fry them (if frozen, let them thaw before) with a little oil until warm. The oil also helps giving them back a bit of moisture.

YUMMMMM!!! This was DELICIOUS ? I have only just started trying a different diet and was very nervous as I am the fussiest person alive, but there was no need to be nervous, I think I have landed in heaven ?

I just made these tonight for a lunch prep and my husband cannot keep his hands off of them. Mind you, he’s not really big on falafels, I made them for me! Awesome recipe! I followed the recipe exactly, except, I did not have dried beans, so I used two drained 15oz cans of beans and the consistency was perfect. I would recommend flipping them halfway through. At the end of the bake time, they weren’t brown on top, but they were brown on the bottom, so the rotation may help with the overall browness. Thank you for this wonderful, super tasty recipe. It will definitely be in rotation.

Hi, I’m looking forward to trying these tomorrow, but had a few question. I’m curious why baking powder is needed? Also how many hours minimum do the beans need to be soaked? I also don’t like anything spicy (hot).. does the cayenne add heat or just flavor? Thanks!

Hi Joanne, the baking powder makes the falafel fluffier and lighter. As for the soaking, 12 hours would be a good amount of time. The falafel are definitely not spicy :) You can always leave out the cayenne pepper, they will be good either way :) Hope you like the recipe!

​​​Just sauteed 4 cloves of minced garlic in olive oil, nothing else with it. ​I had 5 cups of processed chickpeas after I soaked, rinsed, and processed them. ​Used garfava flour versus garbanzo.​ ​​Delicious in a wrap with avocado or Tahini sauce! My only complaint is that I thought it was too salty, and next time I’ll reduce salt 1/8-1/4 tsp.

Thank you for your detailed feedback, Lisa! Yeah salt is always a difficult topic because different types of salts vary & it’s all up to preference, but I’ll have a close look at the salt I’m adding next time I’m making these and adjust/change the recipe then :) Thanks for bringing it to my attention!

Followed recipe exactly as written and turned out great! I do think frying them in a little oil made them not so dry. Made homemade vegan pita, pickled veggies and tahini to go along with them! Fantastic!

Hi Mario, you probably need more “glue” aka chickpea flour + olive oil or water. When you form the balls, the mixture shouldn’t fall apart too easily. Then, after baking the falafel should hold together just fine. Cheers, Bianca :)

Thanks for your post. I’m wondering though, when making a batch what is the serving size? When putting in how many servings I would like I’m not sure if it’s stating the number of falafel balls or a serving. Kelley

You’ll end up with approximately 45 falafel – give or take – depending on how large you make the falafel. So you will have lots of falafel. I always freeze them and take out just as many as I need. For wraps, I usually use 4 falafel, when used in a falafel curry 5-6 falafel per person. It just depends on what you use it for. Hope that helps! :)

So good! I just made these and I can’t stop eating them. I plan to make the curry tonight but we’ll see if they last that long, haha! I ended up using maybe twice as much chickpea flour because it wasn’t sticking together at first. I also didn’t know how much a “bunch” of parsley was so I think I put in too much, but they still taste great. Thanks for this recipe! I will definitely be making these many more times in the future!

Thank you for the awesome feedback, Brianna! I’m so glad you like them! The amount of the chickpea flour always varies a bit – depending on how much water the chickpeas soaked up – so it’s always a good idea to just add until you can form the falafel :) As for the parsley, I usually add 1/2 cup of chopped parsley because I love lots of parsley :D

I’m planning to make these tomorrow and am super excited about it! Just wanted to check…do you recommend cooking them before freezing them and then just heating the frozen ones up as and when you want them? Thanks!

Hi Emma, yep, I usually just bake the whole batch and then freeze the leftovers. But you could probably do it the other way around as well. I just think they would hold together better when frozen after baking.